During the live broadcast of tonight’s TUF 16 Finale the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced three key welterweight matchups for the upcoming UFC 158 event in Montreal, including a bout between Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger (28-6) and Johny ‘Bigg Rigg’ Hendricks (14-1) as that third fight.

The other two previously identified matches include a welterweight title match between champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz and a rematch between Rory MacDonald vs. Carlos Condit.

UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz is expected to take place on March 16, 2013 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

good fight. i like ellenbergers chances against hendricks. he's got tight boxing and great wrestling. he has a chance of nullifying hendricks game. i'll probably still pick hendricks to win, but this fight should be really exciting.

SmileR

12/15/12 11:11:18PM

Awesome fight! Hendricks struggles with good wrestlers an I can see Ellenburger giving him some serious trouble!

sparky

12/15/12 11:20:10PM

Posted by SmileR

Awesome fight! Hendricks struggles with good wrestlers an I can see Ellenburger giving him some serious trouble!

What he said

sbulldavid

12/15/12 11:43:55PM

Coin Flip, both of these guys possess a bomb, I would say that Hendricks is the more lethal but I think Ellenberger is better technically and is the stronger fighter probably.

aussiemma

12/15/12 11:49:32PM

ellenberger for the win.

JLS1980

12/15/12 11:57:34PM

Great fight. I will be hoping that Ellenberger wins this one.

thevoodooninja

12/16/12 12:16:07AM

i'll be pulling for hendricks

Bubbles

12/16/12 1:17:32AM

really surprised Hendricks took this fight, but at least he will be training and ready for a fight if something were to happen with Diaz

PaulieG

12/16/12 2:20:03AM

Test for Hendricks before he KOS GSP

Twenty20Dollars

12/16/12 2:28:45AM

Hendricks supposedly to get title shot if he wins this fight, but I'm sure he'll have to wait in line once Sonnen is given the shot.

I wonder what the odds are of these three fights staying in tack are.

prozacnation1978

12/16/12 2:30:02AM

Very sweet card Plus cote vs sakara rematch

DrivenDavies15

12/16/12 2:59:59AM

They should make this an all-welterweight main card and put like Koscheck, Brown, Hardy, or Kampmann on it and it would be pretty cool.

As far as this fight goes I see Hendricks all day both are huge power punchers with great wrestling but Hendricks has the cardio and a solid chin/beard which I see him helping get the KO !!

george112

12/16/12 9:33:14AM

Hendricks UD imo.

Although a hard fought one.

Physically they are close but I'm giving Hendricks the slightest of edges

Bubbles

12/16/12 10:53:05AM

Posted by PaulieG

Test for Hendricks before he KOS GSP

like this?

airkerma

12/16/12 11:30:43AM

I got Hendricks all day on this one. I think he's better in all facets, especially in his jiu jitsu as he mentioned earlier

jjeans

12/16/12 12:52:26PM

Interesting. If chins and power were out the equation I'd give it to Elleberger, he has a much well rounded skill-set with kicks and knees. Hendricks is a very one dimensional boxer he's starting to mix it up a bit more with faints and combos as seen in the Kos and Kampmann fight.

A gassed Ellenberger has a bad pain threshold, a gassed Hendricks is very flat footed and isn't going to posses that one punch KO power.

This is going to be a very tough fight to call, and everything I've said assumes the wrestling is going to neutralised and the two will be forced to stand and tradeIf Hendricks can KO Ellenberger whilst Jakes using technical striking he will only do that with good footwork ao in my eyes he would have done enough to convince me he won't be on the identical end to a Koscheck beating (being jabbed in the face for 25 minutes)

isk

12/16/12 1:24:06PM

I like Hendricks for this based on their similar base styles, their recent performances and the momentum (or lack thereof) each carries into the fight.

Ellenberger did what he needed to do against Jay Hieron following the loss to Martin Kampmann. He stayed patient, conserved his energy, blasted Hieron with carefully chosen shots and shrugged off everything Hieron threw. He's certainly had more impressive and decisive victories, but that also came at the risk of getting clipped or taken down.

The question for Ellenberger is whether he's mentally reset himself to how he was right after the KO of Jake Shields, and if he's since added more tools to his striking. He hits like a train, sure, but he's a total in-fighter. His punches are usually the plant-and-swing boxer variety, not the probing or lunging ones that can catch guys on the run. He can swarm, but that's usually set up by a short range shot (and doesn't always finish, as in the Kampmann fight).

Hendricks, on the other hand, is not only a beastly power puncher, he's a swarmer as well. He's shown good pursuit and range in his last few fights, and he knows how to joust (as shown in the Pierce fight). I think his best bet is to keep using his footwork and effective range, especially if Ellenberger hunkers down and starts swinging stationary hooks. While his chin is solid, Ellenberger's striking still has (and will likely always have) that similar crushing power.

On a parting note, if Hendricks wins as I think he will, it would be horrendous if he didn't get the next title shot. I feel he's already earned this one, so if for some reason Zuffa sets up GSP/MacDonald as the student vs the master, or Diaz/MacDonald as the student's revenge, they'd be going a bit too far for the money train. Ultimately it is a business, but let's keep the GSP/Diaz and Bones/Sonnen fights as what they are - exceptions and not the rule.

prozacnation1978

12/16/12 2:29:29PM

Talk about a murders row of fighters to get a crack at the belt

Fitch kos kammpman and Ellenburger Ufc should have allowed johnny to face a can for the event Or at least give him like matt brown or John Hathaway

BuffaloDave

12/16/12 2:35:09PM

Posted by prozacnation1978

Talk about a murders row of fighters to get a crack at the belt

Fitch kos kammpman and Ellenburger Ufc should have allowed johnny to face a can for the event Or at least give him like matt brown or John Hathaway

Doesn't make sense giving him someone so much lower in the rankings than himself.

SmileR

12/16/12 8:46:14PM

Posted by prozacnation1978

Talk about a murders row of fighters to get a crack at the belt

Fitch kos kammpman and Ellenburger Ufc should have allowed johnny to face a can for the event Or at least give him like matt brown or John Hathaway

Why give him an easy fight? All that would do is weaken his claim to the number 2 spot especially when the likes of Fitch, Maia, Rory an others are all lined up to fight top ranked guys. Rory is seriously 1 win away from a hell of a strong claim to the number 2 spot. Fitch with a win over Maia isn't far behind especially after how he drummed Silva. So with an easy fight Hendricks could fall victim to the what have you done recently side of the ufc board!

spang714

12/17/12 9:26:00PM

I like Hendricks close on points...maybe split dec...Ellenbergers tough